Post navigation

Righty, here we go. This book is pure Devon McCormack, so if you don’t like steaming hot men getting into it all over the place, while offering up a light angsty narrative with a bit of an open ending, this book isn’t for you.

If, however, you like age gaps, MCs who do their best to avoid falling for each other because they don’t want to hurt someone else, who have an emotional connection which jumps off the page and who burn up the sheets like the world is about to end, you’ll love this.

Jesse and Eric are a brilliant pair, they complement each other perfectly, Eric’s age and experience acting as a guide to Jesse’s younger but no less mature spirit.

Their mutual attraction isn’t straightforward though, Eric’s son Ty is Jesse’s best friend and his relationship with his dad isn’t the best. I loved that there was genuine, honest conflict in this book over their feelings for each other and for Ty.

Neither man has had it easy, Jesse growing up in foster homes, Eric with a mostly absentee father and an incident in his teenage years which has coloured his life ever since.

But there is a genuine connection between them, it’s not just lust, although there’s a healthy dose of that too and some seriously sexy scenes when they finally give in to the passion.

This isn’t a 5* read for me simply because of the end, where the reader is left with a strong HFN but with added complications which will be continued. It’s not a cliffhanger as such, but it did make me curse a bit 😉

As an aside:

The cover is ex Rugby League international Stuart Reardon, who has carved out a successful post playing career as a model and fitness expert.

As I knew him when I covered the game as a journalist when he was just starting out in his early 20s – with shaven head and attitude – it always gives me a bit of a chuckle to see him now as a major sex symbol.

In this book though, he’s a perfect representation for Eric and it’s great to see him doing so well outside of the sport he had success in.

#ARC kindly received from the author in return for an honest and unbiased review.

Aaron is drowning. After coming out as gay, he lost his parents’ approval, his job, and his sense of identity. He feels like a freak who doesn’t fit in anywhere. His last hope was his brother Josh, but Josh can’t seem to forgive him for how Aaron treated him when they were teens. Not that Aaron can blame him, because he did treat Josh like crap.

All Aaron wants is for someone to accept him, guide him, because he doesn’t have a clue. When sexy jiu jitsu teacher Blake takes him in and starts mentoring him, Aaron has hope for the first time, even though he can’t understand what Blake sees in him.

Blake doesn’t do relationships. At all. He’s more than willing to help Aaron find solid ground under his feet, but that’s it. Until insecure, vulnerable, and surprisingly sexy Aaron gets under his skin, triggering all kinds of protective instincts that make Blake long for more. He wants to take care of Aaron, give him what he needs, but how can he convince Aaron of that?

When Josh’s friend-with-benefits Indy’s past finally catches up with him, it endangers them all—and leads to heartbreaking decisions for everyone involved.

No Fear is a steamy M/M romance that ends with a HFN for Aaron and Blake, but has a continuing storyline as well. It’s the third book in the No Shame Series, and is not a stand alone novel, so make sure to read the first book (No Filter) and the second book (No Limits) first. It contains hot sex, a little kink, more hot sex, very mild puppy play, and a beautiful friendship-with-benefits that transcends labels. Also: trigger warning for mentions of sexual abuse.

EXCERPT

“You can start with plain vanilla sex, work your way up to the kinky stuff,” Blake said with a laugh.

“You make it sound boring,” Aaron complained.

Blake sobered. “No, and I’m sorry for teasing you a bit. You set the pace, Aaron. If you’re not ready for sex, you wait. If you are, you find someone who will respect you enough to take it slow, okay?”

Aaron reached out for his hand and held it tight. “Will you do it?” he asked.

Blake’s heart jumped in his chest. Was Aaron asking what he thought he was? “What do you mean?” He needed to be certain.

“I want you to be my first.”

He looked so cute and pretty and sexy, still in that gorgeous top and the tight jeans. But his words were cute and pretty, too, like a schoolgirl on prom night. Blake needed to manage expectations. “Aaron, I don’t do relationships. I like you, I really do, but don’t read more into this. I don’t date or hold hands or do romantic dinners.”

“That’s okay. I don’t need that. What I need is a safe place to gain some experience. You said it yourself, I need someone who respects me enough to take it slow. I want my first time to be good. I trust you. Please, Blake?”

Blake couldn’t help himself. He pulled Aaron close and brought their mouths together. At first, Aaron kept his mouth closed. Blake increased the pressure, licked his lips and pushed with his tongue until Aaron let him in. He angled his head a bit more, dove in deep. Aaron’s movements were slow, insecure, but he wound his arms around Blake’s neck and held on.

His mouth was sweet, hot. Blake tasted the peppermint Aaron so often suckled on, those white-and-red-striped ones. He teased Aaron’s tongue with his, until it responded, until they were doing a slick dance of push and pull. He was a fast learner, copying Blake’s moves at first, then coming up with a few of his own.

He was everything Blake usually avoided. Inexperienced, vulnerable, insecure. Yet kissing him did something to Blake’s body that he didn’t recognize. It triggered a hunger in him, a fierce need to possess, to own.

His hands lowered till they reached Aaron’s ass. He put one hand on each butt cheek, pulled Aaron close to him and ground his hips into him. The kid was hard again, and he himself had barely been soft since they had gotten into the dressing room. What was Aaron doing to him?

He broke off the kiss, swore softly at the sight of Aaron’s dazed look, his swollen lips. Fuck, Blake didn’t want to stop, not even close. He kissed him once more, the gentlest of kisses. “Not here. Not now.”

Aaron blinked. “But you’ll do it?”

“Tomorrow. I want you to have time to think about this, sleep on it. If tomorrow in the cold light of day you decide this is what you want, I’m your man.”

When she was a little tot, Nora’s mom got a library subscription for her. That, as they say, was that, and a lifelong love for books was born. Nora never stopped reading and doesn’t exaggerate when she says she devours books, rather than plain reads them. She started writing stories as soon as she could hold a pen, and wrote her first full book as a teen (on a typewriter!). It took her waaaay too long to follow her dream to become a romance author.

Nora writes M/M romance, because hello, sexy boys, and likes her men flawed, strong, and a tad broken. She appreciates a little kink, but insists on a happy ever after.

I’m not sure I quite buy into part of what happens at the end of this book but up to that point it was absolutely heading for my favourite in the series.

This is a wonderful read, it’s got a lot of humour, a lot of good sex, a little bit of angst, some character development and a wonderfully brilliant grovel.

Lamont is a real sweetie, he’s quiet and a bit neurotic and, at the age of 45, mostly given up on love finding him outside of the hetero romance novels he writes under a female pseudonym.

But fate has a funny little habit of putting things in the path of people when they least expect it and such is the case here when he bumps into cover model Tyler in a bar during a convention.

Lamont and Tyler hit it off and a plan is hatched for him to visit Lavender Shores for Andrew and Joel’s baby shower and pose as Lamont’s boyfriend.

Of course, nothing ever goes to plan and as they spend more time together it becomes clear it’s not just pretend. Lamont was honest about sex always needing to have an emotional connection for him in the past and how he’d been burned so many times by people just wanting the physical.

Watching him fall for Tyler but not know whether he was still playing a role was a little bit heart breaking but it made the joy all the more sweeter when his feelings were returned.

Tyler’s carrying his own baggage too and the author never loses sight of that, he’s worried about losing himself and letting go from his only sex no emotions state of living.

There’s a hiccup along the way but some good groveling and a lay it bare letter helps bridge the gap and leads into a truly spectacular make up sex session involving a pool table.

Now bring on book five and finally Connor and Micah’s ‘forbidden’ romance!

Victor is amazing, Isaiah is a dick and lots of bits of this book are a hot mess but I still mostly enjoyed it.

I note from friends reviews that the blurb changed at some point to remove references to Victor being gender fluid and that’s probably a good thing as I didn’t really read anything within the text which gave that impression.

Evan, Isaiah’s adopted son on the other hand, did seem to be pushing boundaries and I loved him and his fierce attitude and determination to be himself.

Victor was awesome too, did I mention I loved Victor?! Dancers are a weakness for me, the power and grace and artistry and sexuality, vulnerability and their ability to convey emotion just ticks all my boxes.

It’s one of the greatest joys and biggest regrets of my life that I didn’t keep dancing past my mid teens, especially when I was dancing with some of the finest contemporary dancers who went on to found Phoenix Dance Theatre (as they were known back then).

I wanted Victor to kick Isaiah to the curb after he hurt him through his foolish words and unthinking actions. I did understand where Isaiah was coming from, having lost his first husband, but he was still a dick.

There is some good groveling though and a very public declaration of feelings once Isaiah gets his head out of his own way and realises he’s being a coward and the epilogue is super sweet.

It’s quite a short story, longer than a novella but not full length story mode and I think that is what caused a bit of the messy plotting. Isaiah’s change of heart and willingness to actually be with Victor as a proper husband just felt a bit too quick, even with Evan’s calling out of his behaviour.

Still, kudos for the MCs being a POC pro footballer and Chechnyan dancer rather than the more commonly portrayed Caucasian males.

#ARC received from the publishers via NetGalley in return for an honest and unbiased review.

Spencer Spears’ second installment in the 8 Million Hearts series is a fun romp through the making of a high class porn film – yes there exists such a thing! In fiction at any rate, and centres on Gray, owner of Maggie’s Bar where Ben and Adam played their music in book one.

Now, you’d expect, it having the porn link (Gray is an ex New York porn star voted best in the game for four years running) that this book would be all about the sex.

But, surprisingly not. The other protagonist is former child star Tyler Lang, now in his early 20s and reeling after one two many disasters and a media storm of epic proportions.

He’s looking for something different, a way to take control of the life which had, up until his latest drugs related disaster (and oh how my heart went out to him when he couldn’t remember even buying the coke that had been found in his beat up minivan) been firmly operated by his presently estranged father (more on that ass later).

Their two worlds collide during the filming of a book which has been gaining attention as a high-brow, literary gay porn novel. Tyler is deliciously inexperienced but has a reputation for being a player, all untrue. He’s not even 100% sure he’s gay until he meets Gray and then watches one of his old scenes online.

For Gray, he’s been hanging on to the hope that his dick of a “boyfriend” will finally tell his family about them and admit they’re a couple when he’s dumped, yet again. He’s felt rejected and unworthy his whole life, with the exception of Maggie, who took him in, became his guardian angel and eventually left him her bar and a shedload of properties.

Together they start to navigate their way to a relationship which is both supportive and encouraging of each other, it’s beautiful to read how each opens up to the possibility that there might be someone who sees them for who they are.

#ARC received from the author in return for an honest and unbiased review

This is a fabulous friends to lovers romance which – like toffee sauce down the side of an ice cream sundae – brings a little drizzle of sweetness to a sharp bite.

While this is truly sweet at times, there is also an edge to the friendship between Adam and Ben which is caused by quite realistically depicted anxieties and fears on the part of Adam and a slow dawning that his feelings for his best friend might be a but more from Ben.

There is a proper slow burn to this one too, it’s a long book but every bit of the story felt necessary and earnt its place in the narrative.

When the smexy times come they just add the sprinkles on top as Ben fully embraces his newly developing feelings. Virgin sex is handled with care and with plenty of emotionally driven feelings.

The world building is excellent too and I’m looking forward to finding out more about the secondary characters which help prop up the narrative in this one.

#ARC received from the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.